I still remember the sound of sirens that night.
They called back and forth in the distance, punctuated by people's screams and the sound of shattering glass from the direction of the main road.
I stood behind the window, peeking out in fear. For the first time, Jakarta, the city I knew as one that never slept, felt so frightening.
“Dewi, don’t stand there!”
Dad’s voice startled me.
As a police officer, Dad was used to dealing with all kinds of situations. But that night, there was something different in his eyes.
Worry.
A great deal of worry.
“We’re leaving tonight,” he said.
“Where are we going?”
“Bandung.”
For a moment, I thought Dad was joking. But his face remained serious.
At the time, I didn’t know that single word would change my entire adolescence.
Bandung.
The city that would one day give me friends, love, loss, secrets, and wounds I would never forget.
Jakarta, May 18, 1998
That afternoon, Jakarta’s sky was filled with black smoke. Across from our house, flames devoured a row of shop-houses on Jalan Tembaga.
Mom and I stood behind the fence, watching residents run around trying to save their belongings. Some people carried televisions, electric fans, and household appliances. Some mothers even came out clutching plates and glasses.
I didn’t really understand what was happening.
All I knew was that people were angry.
Very angry.
Even though I was only a sixth-grade elementary-school student who should have been busy studying. Tomorrow, I had to take EBTANAS, the final graduation exam.
“Dewi, come inside!”
Mom pulled me by the hand.
We had barely stepped inside when the house phone rang.
Ring-ring... ring-ring...
Mom picked it up.
“Hello? Yes, Dad.”
I could hear her trying to remain calm.
“Alhamdulillah, we’re safe. Dewi is studying. Angga is watching Power Rangers, his favorite show.”
Mom fell silent as she listened to Dad.
“Be careful on duty, okay? I’m worried.”
She glanced out the window.
“There are already a lot of shop-houses burning and being looted on Jalan Tembaga.”
A few moments later, her face looked a little relieved.
“You’ll be coming home later, right?”
After hanging up, Mom let out a long breath.
“Dewi, don’t leave the house. Keep an eye on your brother.”
“Okay, Mom.”
Mom locked the front door more securely before heading to the kitchen. A trace of anxiety still showed on her face. That night, our house felt different. No one was truly calm, even with everyone inside.
I opened my science book again. I read the formulas for solid figures over and over, but none of them stuck in my head. The commotion outside made it hard to concentrate. From behind the curtains, I could still see the silhouettes of people running and gray smoke continuing to billow upward.
As Maghrib approached, the adhan came through the television.
I had just closed my book when the sound of a motorcycle entering the yard reached us.
“Dad’s home!”
Angga immediately ran toward the door.
“Dad! Mom, Dad’s home!”
Click-click...
His hands busily twisted the handle of the locked door.
“Poor Dad, he’s locked outside!”
I laughed at his antics.
A moment later, there was a knock.
Knock-knock-knock...
Dad peeked through the glass.
Angga immediately pressed his face against the window. Dad responded by pressing his lips to the glass. Angga copied him.
I laughed.
Mom quickly opened the door and hugged Dad.
After they’d had a chance to reunite, Dad came over to me.
“Where’s Dewi?”
“There she is, studying,” Mom replied.
Dad sat beside me, put his arm around my shoulders, and kissed my cheek. I grimaced with a ticklish laugh when his mustache brushed me.
“Get ready to transfer schools, okay, sweetheart?”
I furrowed my brow. Suddenly, all the sounds around me seemed to fade into the distance.
“Transfer schools?”
“Dad will take care of everything. Just focus on tomorrow’s exam.”
Dad patted my shoulder gently. His smile looked calm, but for some reason, I felt that he was hiding something.
I stared at him in confusion. Tomorrow, I was supposed to be thinking about my exam, not transferring schools.
Transfer schools?
Why?
I didn’t know yet that after EBTANAS, I wouldn’t just be leaving my school.
I would also have to leave Jakarta.
And from that day on, my life would never be the same again.
Bandung would become the beginning of everything.